I found the gift bag in the van after church. “Oh, that is a birthday gift,” my wife said. I pulled back the tissue paper and saw that it was a sweater. Shamefully, my initial reaction was not unlike  a child receiving a sweater on his birthday. Then I pulled the garment from the bag. As the cream crewneck unrolled, a marvelous sight came into view.

It was the leaping trout. The Kilbourne trout. The Orvis trout.

Stitched onto this soft, perfectly sized sweater was one of the most iconic fish in angling art. This vintage Orvis pullover was in mint condition. As I looked it over, the original “inspected by” sticker fell  out onto the van floor. And to top it off,  it fit perfectly

Ironically, I am confident that I made fun of this exact sweater 25 years ago. As a young fly fisher browsing through the Orvis catalog, I’d laugh at the idea of wearing pheasant feather bow ties, plaid shorts, and certainly trout sweaters. Yet there I was, overjoyed at someone’s thoughtful thrift shop find.

What changed? I think there are a few reasons… and I think I’m not alone.

Is this about fashion? To a certain degree. What I believe  to be the underlying reason for the retro resurgence is one of the most powerful impulses known to man: nostalgia. Historic sentimentality has the power to gloss over the imperfections of previous generations and bind us to the sweeter aspects of our forerunner’s legacies. Or, it allows us to get over ourselves and appreciate that Dad and Grandpa were just men like we are.  Now that we’re the age that they were in our memories’ contexts, there is something pleasant about stepping into their shoes. Or, at least their Orvis sweaters.

The same brand has expanded its “1971 Camo” line, featuring a duck  camouflage pattern that not many waterfowlers were wearing a handful of seasons ago. Now, along with Orvis, nearly every outdoors company is back in blotchy tan and brown. Foam flatbills, teal/purple color blocking, and mustaches are more or less in again. Stuff that marketing departments wouldn’t have touched are now on the marquee. There are plenty of examples of this today. There are countless examples of this back through the decades.

I thought the Kilbourne trout sweater and its ilk were kitchy and old when I was a younger man. Now, there is something cozy and even cool about all of it. Perhaps it is because it reminds me of yesterday. Perhaps I’ve come to appreciate the old authors and the old techniques a little more. Perhaps it is because, again, I’ve been around enough at this point to realize things aren’t that different today than yesterday. And like I said: I don’t think I’m alone.

Fly fishers want it. Fly fishing companies are happy to provide it. Which is good, because there’s at least one less classic sweater kicking around the thrift shops in New England.